RESEARCH PAPER

Celestina Patel – B 1065

Topic – Impact of Covid in India
College – Prahladrai Dalmia Lions College
• Abstract :-

A holistic approach to education – that addresses students’ learning, social and emotional needs – is crucial, especially in times of crisis. School closures related to
the current COVID-19 pandemic mean that students from diverse backgrounds who are more at risk of increased vulnerability are less likely to receive the support
and extra services they need, and the gap between students that experience additional barriers and that do not might widen. Closures can also have considerable
effects on students’ sense of belonging to schools and their feelings of self-worth – these are key for inclusion in education.

This Policy Brief describes OECD Member Countries’ initiatives to address the different needs of vulnerable students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond
school closures, it also examines the issue of school re-openings by presenting countries’ current measures and providing policy pointers aimed to ensure that the
pandemic does not further hinder the inclusion of vulnerable students in education systems.their schools to try to contain the spread of the virus. School closures
have a very real impact on all students, but especially on the most vulnerable ones who are more likely to face additional barriers. Children and youth from low-
income and single-parent families; immigrant, refugee, ethnic minority and Indigenous backgrounds; with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations; and
those with special education needs suffer by being deprived of physical learning opportunities, social and emotional support available in schools and extra services
such as school meals.They risk falling further behind and becoming isolated with school doors closed. These students are likely to lose the most in terms of
educational outcomes and the support provided by schools if countries take insufficient measures to promote educational equity and inclusion.
The following sections describe OECD Member Countries’ initiatives to address the different needs of vulnerable students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond
school closures, this Policy Brief also examines the issue of school re-openings by presenting countries’ current measures and providing policy pointers aimed to
ensure that the pandemic does not further hinder the inclusion of vulnerable students in education systems.
• Introduction :-

As of 10th May 2020, COVID-19 pandemic has gripped 215 countries across the globe and many of these faced lockdown. Academia was among the first few sectors that
faced rapid shut down of all its activities.Thousands of schools and higher education institutions and millions of students are affected by lockdown due to the COVID-19
pandemic as the first response from the educational sector was to completely halt its operations.Coronavirus pandemic has triggered the significant change, imposing
many challenges in the higher education community globally.After about four months in the global crisis, we have started realizing that the COVID-19 is here to stay and
we need to find solutions to move on. This crisis can be looked upon as an opportunity to reconstruct our longstanding educational systems and establish better and
updated practices in academia, suitable for the present generation of learners. We must prepare ourselves for the changing world when COVID-19 pandemic is blown off.

A Scenario in India

India is a demographically diverse large country with high population density. The nationwide lockdown was the only strategy in the fight against COVID-19
pandemic, which started on 25th March 2020 and is continued in its fifth phase until 30 th June 2020 with some relaxations in no infection areas.Citizens across the
country chose to sit in their homes abiding the guidelines issued by the government of India. Academic activities in India were rapidly halted in the middle of the year,
by individual institutions and states even before the countrywide lockdown began. As per the recent guidelines issued by University Grant Commission (UGC), the apex
body for higher education in India, the educational institutes must strive to provide quality education, ensuring uniformity, equity and universal accessibility to all the
learners. There is constant encouragement from Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, for innovative use and promotion of technology in ushering educational
reforms to create a vibrant knowledge society.
Medical and healthcare education is also severely affected by this global crisis. Moreover, it will continue to remain affected as healthcare systems as most teaching
hospitals are completely occupied by COVID-19 load. The challenge of clinical exposure to the medical and health profession students will aggravate even further.
Owing to the rapid transmission of COVID-19, face-to-face and small group tutorials are prohibited. This imposes greater challenge especially in the context of
ophthalmic and optometric skills, which requires close contact between the eye care practitioner and the patient.Social distancing and telemedicine are set to be ‘a new
normal’ hereafter, imposing a persistent challenge for global optometry educators, to teach various clinical skills to the students. The scenario is prompting an urgent
need for transformation of optometry education, from traditional brick mortar system to e-learning environment, imparting updated competencies in our graduating
optometry professionals.
Optometry educators in India have responded very quickly to this crisis, in the light of guidelines issued by the Government of India and UGC. There is a sudden surge
seen in the number of webinars and online learning sessions on social media platforms, on various topics of optometry, attended not only by students but also by a
massive number of practitioners. This has generated never before momentum in optometry education and also in continuing education programs. The purpose of this
study is to apprehend the enabling and impeding factors behind this momentum.
This paper reports the findings of the observational study describing the rapid transition of optometry education in India amid COVID 19 disruptions. Findings of
nationwide online survey ascertaining the present practices of teaching-learning in optometry are discussed in light of similar survey done in 2018 by the same authors
(VR and UM). It not only informs the readers about what changed in reference to the past but also appraises how and why the quick adaptation was possible, along with
the challenges that are faced during the transition from educator’s perspectives.

• Conclusion :-

From the research, it has carried out that COVID-19 is having a serious impact on the businesses and other sectors. The research has identified the impact of this
pandemic Issue of the education system and approaches of the institutions for offering the learning.Through other mediums. According to the study, people are facing
serious issues related To learning and looking for new approaches to learning. The leading authorities have to Consider the seriousness of the issues and have to take the
corrective measure for improving the situation that will help to normalise the things and support in enhancing.The living experience. The lack of technical understanding
of students and teacher is also a big challenge for the system to offer training and support. The proper implementation of rules for social distancing and sanitising will
also increase the operational cost of the Institutions. Moreover, the sudden shift to online learning will be difficult for the Countries and educational authorities due to
lack of infrastructure and planning for the Format that suits the new approach. It becomes difficult for the educational institutions.To maintaining the operational cost and
retains the students. For the betterment of the educational system and approaches of institutions need Changes. To maintain continuity in learning and to share the
knowledge with the Students, it is recommended to the institutions to adopt the technology and engage the Students in learning. The implementation of smart learning
tools like Padlet and Edmodo Can be used for offering the learning. By offering the training to the staff members and collecting the feedback from the parents related to
the online system will be useful for theeducational institution to overcome the issues related to take classes and engage the students.
• Methology :-

The research required a systematic flow of the actions that help to improve the effectiveness of outcome and achievement of the objectives. To develop the
systematic approach, there are two types of philosophies used, interpretive and positivism. For Current research related to the analysis of the impact of COVID-19
on the education system and institution, the researcher has selected interpretive research philosophy. By Considering this philosophy, the researcher has collected
and analysed the different opinions of respondents and identifies the key actions to improve the situation. Apart from this, interpretive philosophy has helped to
maintain openness (Kumar, 2019).
Deductive and indicative research approaches are used for gaining an understanding Of the variables of the study and maintaining the flow of the analysis. For
conducting current research, the researcher has applied the indicative approach that also supportsIn increasing reliability and validity. By implementing this
approach, the researcher hasCollected data for the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the educational system and Institution using the questionnaire method
(Fletcher, 2017). This was cost and time Effective and eliminated the issues related to the privacy of the respondents.
The strategic approach of the research study is developed by applying the appropriate Design. For achieving the proposed outcome, the researcher could apply the
exploratory, Descriptive and casual design. The current research is based on data collected from the Questionnaire and to analyse the impact of Covid-19 on the
educational system, the descriptive design was useful. This kind of design has helped to analyse and social, Economic and technical aspects of the COVID-19 on
the institution and support in Gaining the in-depth knowledge of issues and potential barriers in the offering of online learning and changing the existing classroom
approach of study (Wiek and Lang, 2016).
According to research methodology functions, to research in a professional manner,Two types of study have been followed that involve qualitative and
quantitative. For the Current research, the researcher has applied descriptive design and collected the data using the questionnaire method. Therefore, the study
was based on the quantitative type and helped to meet the objectives of the study (Mohajan, 2018). By using this type, the researcher has made emphasis on direct
and indirect factors that might influence theeducational system and approaches of institutions due to outbreak of Covid-19. It hasalso supported in analysing the
different variables for identifying the impact on online learning due to changes in economic, demographic and employment level of the people.
• Data Analysis & Interpretation :-

Quantitative data from surveys were analyzed using the software package SPSS. Factor analysis (Principal Components analysis) was conducted on the scales to ensure
items of each scale measured one representative factor using Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (BTS). Descriptive analysis was applied to
gauge the categorical variables’ frequencies and to determine the means and standard deviations of each scale. Independent-samples t-tests were used to determine
differences between the scores of the social and educational aspects of students’ lives for men and women students, while Pearson correlation coefficients were used to
explore the relationships among the aspects of social and educational lives of students. Parametric tests were considered appropriate as the sample was large, and the data
met the requirements for parametric testing.
To ensure the validity of the survey, Saudi experts on the research subject reviewed and ensured the validity of the scales’ content and structure in the Arabic version.
After obtaining consensus on the survey’s validity, a pilot study was conducted with a group of 25 university students to gain feedback. In addition, factor analysis
(principal components analysis) was conducted on the survey scales to ensure that the items of each scale measured one representative factor using the Kaiser-Meyer-
Olkin (KMO) test and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (BTS).

• Sampling :-
Sampling was done using the non-probability method as the researcher has chosen the sample of students and teachers from the entire population according to own
connivance. For the current research, the researcher has selected a sample of 50 respondents and shared the questionnaire to gain knowledge of their opinion for analysis
of the impact of COVID-19 on educational system and institution.

• Reliability and Validity of the Study :-

To maintain the reliability and validity of research, the researcher has asked questions related to the subject matter and eliminated the wrong responses. To improve
validity of the study, the views of academics from the Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University were gathered. Moreover, to improve the validity of the study, the
researcher Has collected the data from authentic sources and managed the analysis in proper ways.Descriptive and content analysis were used to analyze the data.
Calculated according to Miles and Huberman (1994)’s formula, the reliability of the data was found 85%.Moreover, the researcher has focused upon ethical standards of
study such as privacy of The respondents, manipulation of the data and ensured that no data had been taken as plagiarised. This kind of approach has improved the
effectiveness and validity of the Research for analysing the impact of COVID-19 on the educational system and approaches of the institutions.
• Analysis Technique :-
It is an important part of the research, and the researcher has analysed the data by using the thematic analysis method. According to this method, the researcher has done
The frequency distribution and analysed the response of respondents by developing the graphs and tables. This kind of approach has helped the researcher and readers of
the Study (Cuervo‐Cazurra et al., 2017). The thematic analysis has also improved the Reliability and eliminated the biasness in the study.
• Objectives :-
The overall objective of this study is to analyze the Impact of COVID-19 on Indian Education System. In particular, this study will examine:
i. How the Indian education system is facing the Impact of COVID-19, andhighlighting the role played by teachers and students through online education
ii. How the positive impact helpful to student, parents and school teachers in thescenario of the online education.
iii. How to reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 on students for their smooth
education.

• Purpose of the study :-

• All systems have strengths and weaknesses. Maximizing strengths and minimizingweaknesses in order not to miss the opportunity to move forward should be the goal.
Themain purpose of the study is to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the Indian education system. It covers the impact of COVID-19 on rural and urban students,
Higher education Institutions.

• Digital Infrastructure in India :-

Before the COVID-19 lockdown in India, no one estimated that the face of the Indianeducational institutions could change so drastically. Schools that never allowed
students to carry an electronic gadget turned into learning centers for online classes. Both teachers and students are getting familiar to this new normal, which is definitely
more challenging for the teachers to handle with this situation. The teachers also face challenges in designing effective lessons and changing of teaching when shifting to
online learning; this can also be resolved through workshops and training.
Thank you